Improvement in tools for opening boxes



UNITED STATES XVILLIAM M. KEAGUE, OF BROOKLYN, NEW YORK.

IMPROVEMENT IN TOOLS FOR. OPENING BOXES.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 4 1,925, dated March l5, 1864.

To LZZ whom; t may concern:

Be it known that l, W. M. KEAGUE, of Brooklyn, in the county of Kings and State of New York, have invented a new and Improved Tool for Opening Boxes; and l do hereby declare that the following is a full, clear, and exact description of the same, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, forming a part of this specification, in which- Figure L represents a perspective view of myinvention, showing its application to a box. Fig. 2 is a similar view of the tool in a different position from that shown in Fig. 1. Fig. 3 is a transverse vertical section of the same.

Similar letters of reference in the three views indicate corresponding parts.

This invention consists in a tool composed of a handle having on one side a toe and on the other a hammer, said toe being attached to the handle in an oblique direction, so that by entering the same between the cover and top edge of a box and depressing the handle the nails are forced out and the box is opened, and bythe aid of the hammer the nails can be readily removed from the cover or refastened as may be desired. Y The toe is prevented from slipping by V-shaped notches cut into both surfaces of the same near its opposite edges.

'lo enable those skilled i'n the art to make and use my invention, I will proceed to describe it. A

A represents a handle or lever, made of wroughtiron or of any other suitable material, and of any convenient length and thickness. From one end of this handle projects the toeB toa distance of about one and one-halt' inches, (more or less,) and this toe is placed in an oblique position toward the handle, as clearly shown in Figs. l and 2 of the drawings. If the toe is entered between the cover and top edge of a box, either by the aid of a hammer or otherwise, and the handle is depressed in the direction of the arrow marked near it in Fig. l, the nails are started and the cover is forced olf. By giving to the toe an oblique position in relation to the handle, saidhandle, after the toe has been entered between the cover and top edges of the box, assumes an inclined position convenient for the operator to press down upon it, and it affords considerable leverage in startin g the nails.

The front edge of the toe' is made sharp for the purpose of cutting the hoops, and both surfaces of the same are provided with V- shaped notches ai, one set near the front and the other near the rear edge of the toe. These notches are intended to bite into the wood above and below after the toe has been driven in between the cover and top edge of a box, and they prevent the toe from slipping during the operation of forcing oft' the cover. Aclaw, b, cut into the rear edge of the toe, serves to pull the nails from the cover or box in the usual manner.

O represents a hammer-face attached to the outer surface orbacl; of thehandle A, and made hexagonal, round, or in any other desirable form or shape. This hammer serves to remove the nailsremaining in the covers after thel same have been taken oft', or it may be used to refasten the covers, it' desired.

By these means a hammer, a claw, and a chisel are combined in one tool; and, furthermore, the danger of spoiling the goods in opening a box is avoided. Claws otl the ordinary construction-such as generally used for the purpose of opening boxes-are made of such a length that the same, when driven in between the cover and box, reach some distance within the box, and in many cases the points of the claws, by coming in contact with the goods of the box, cause considerable damage. With my tool even the most careless operator is not able to drive in the toe any farther than up to the handle, and the-length of the toe is such that it reaches but very little into the interior of the box, and that no damage can arise from an injudicious use of the same.

What I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

As a new article of manufacture, an instrument for opening boxes, constructed and operating in the manner'described.

XVM. M. KEAGUE.

Witnesses:

Trios. S. J. DOUGLAS, GEO. W. REED. 

